San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick stands on the sideline in the first half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012, in Seattle. (John Froschauer / Associated Press)

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick stands on the...

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San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick calls to his team in the first half of an NFL football game against the Seattle Seahawks, Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012, in Seattle. (Elaine Thompson / Associated Press)

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick calls to his team...

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Colin Kaepernick, center, quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, looks for a teammate to pass to during the first half of the Seahawks and 49ers game Sunday, Dec. 23, 2012, at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, WA.

The question was asked to Jim Harbaugh after the Seattle game. Of course it was. Because even though the 49ers had surrendered 73 points over six quarters of football, the story of this season revolves around Colin Kaepernick.

"For the record, is there any doubt that Colin is your starting quarterback?" Harbaugh was asked.

This is Kaepernick's job and no turning back. With the resounding loss in Seattle, the chance of a meaningless game against Arizona vanished, along with the opportunity to scrape the rust off Alex Smith, in case he might be needed in January.

Team Kaepernick rushed to his defense on social media, saying he wasn't the problem against the Seahawks. But he wasn't the solution either. He struggled getting the plays in. He converted only three third downs. He threw several dangerous balls, and Richard Sherman finally intercepted one. The only touchdown drive was irrelevant.

Part of the job of being the focal point of the team is handling the brutal losses as well as the glorious wins. Kaepernick's predecessor had lots of practice in the former and, last year, learned about the latter. Kaepernick is learning in the heat of a playoff push.

He's a work in progress. He comes to the postgame with little analysis. His entire contribution Sunday night amounted to 187 words, boiled down to: "We didn't play well enough to win."

Kaepernick is very smart and talented, but not very interested in being a spokesman. Perhaps that's because his two biggest role models - Harbaugh and Randy Moss - have a healthy disdain for media. Perhaps it's because at Nevada he received virtually no press coverage. Perhaps it's because he's a product of the social media generation.